Wednesday, February 21Dear Lord, We know that it is right to give thanks to you for you are good and your steadfast love endures forever. Help us during our busy days to thank you for the many blessings you give us and for your care and presence which is always with us. Grow in us thankful hearts. Amen.

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER Loving God, I sometimes get frustrated with our country. I become frustrated with our political system, with our candidates and representatives, our leaders and our government. I look around and wonder what is going on, why some things are happening and other things are not happening. Too often, those feelings lead me to bow out, not sure whom to cheer for, not sure how to make an impact. Sometimes, I end up simply focusing [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God of love and peace, Sometimes, an evil spirit comes over me, God, just like one came over King Saul. Sometimes it is depression, or jealousy, or rage, or out of control ambition, or greed, or snarkiness, or all sorts of other spirits. I refuse to give in to those spirits, God. I won’t let them take me over completely. I turn to you, the only one who can rescue me from such a spirit. [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER Gracious God, Some weeks are harder than others. We had five funerals for lovely people at St. Luke’s over the last week, all members of our congregation. And there is the Orlando tragedy. And a baby is killed by an alligator. And it is really hot and miserable outside. And the parking lot is a long way off to walk in the heat. You know, all that sadness and annoyance kind of piles up [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God of love and peace, Sometimes, an evil spirit comes over me, God, just like one came over King Saul. Sometimes it is depression, or jealousy, or rage, or out of control ambition, or greed, or snarkiness, or all sorts of other spirits. I refuse to give in to those spirits, God. I won’t let them take me over completely. I turn to you, the only one who can rescue me from such a spirit. [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God of love and peace, Sometimes, an evil spirit comes over me, God, just like one came over King Saul. Sometimes it is depression, or jealousy, or rage, or out of control ambition, or greed, or snarkiness, or all sorts of other spirits. I refuse to give in to those spirits, God. I won’t let them take me over completely. I turn to you, the only one who can rescue me from such a spirit. [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God of mercy, Oh, how quick I am to judge others. I don’t want to categorize people, but I do: Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, black or white or Hispanic, gay or straight, old or young, rich or poor, Longhorns or Aggies, with me or against me. I could go on and on. And then, of course, I form judgments about those people based on the category. If it isn’t about appearance, it is about their opinions [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. WE PRAY: A PERSONAL PRAYER Gracious God, Most things have come easy for me. I was blessed with a supportive family, a first class education, and the resources I have needed to accomplish my goals. As I came into the ministry, I simply followed the path of least resistance, and walked through the doors you opened for me. I stand in awe of those whose life circumstances meant they had to dig deeper—those who went to college at night, [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. WE PRAY: A PERSONAL PRAYER Gracious God, You know I am a part of the people called Methodist, and our book of order is called The Discipline. But I am not so disciplined. I want to be. I know that those things I do every day will make the greatest difference in my life. I can’t go to the gym once, or even once in a while, and expect it to make a difference. I can’t pray only [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. WE PRAY: A PERSONAL PRAYER Come, Holy Spirit! God–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – I long for you to come and fill me, fill your whole church, with your power. I read how on the day of Pentecost, your Holy Spirit fell upon those ordinary people, and they were transformed. They spoke in other tongues, that people of every race and tribe might know your love. They worked miracles that could not be accomplished by their own [...]

We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. WE PRAY: A PERSONAL PRAYER God of Love, I am in awe of the shower of relationships you have sent my way. I am surrounded by an amazing family, a wonderful group of friends, teammates who share my passions, and a congregation of people who love and support me. I confess, O God, that even with all of these wonderful and amazing relationships, sometimes I seal myself off from the love of those folks you send my way. Sometimes, I [...]